Japan secondhand store Bookoff to step up CD, DVD recycling
Japanese secondhand goods retailer Bookoff Group Holdings Ltd. will step up its efforts to recycle CDs and DVDs into daily items.
Bookoff annually disposes of 1,700 tons of unsold discs and cases from some 800 outlets across the country.
In January, the company started selling storage baskets and other items made from recycled plastic, in which part of the waste is used as a material.
The company, based in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo, plans to offer a wider variety of daily items and increase related sales, aiming to recycle all unsold discs and their cases from its outlets, officials said.
Operations to make finished products from the plastic waste, including crushing, washing and processing, are outsourced to other companies.
Items made from recycled plastic, such as storage baskets, smartphone stands and business card holders, are sold at some Bookoff outlets and at shops handling products aimed at tackling social issues.
Bookoff also sells recycled resins, including polypropylene, to manufacturers.
Going forward, Bookoff plans to buy items made from recycled plastic from customers at outlets for reuse.
"We hope our efforts to recycle plastic, rather than trying to get rid of it, will provide (consumers) an opportunity to think about the environment," an official said.
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
